Eastern Cape villages left empty and dry despite R66 million spent on non-functioning water projects

• The Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape has spent more than R66 million on various water projects.
• Residents of villages in the area say that water has not flowed from their taps for a long time.
• South Africans want to know where the money went if projects don’t work as they should.

EASTERN CAPE – Many Ngcobo villages still do not have running water despite the district municipality spending millions on water supply projects in the area.

Many of these villages have never had water and others have long since dried up, leaving South Africans wondering where the money went.

GroundUp recently reported that the Chris Hani District Municipality had spent more than R66 million on water supply projects, but the projects had been declared completed even though they were not fully operational.

Seven water supply systems built in Ngcobo

According to municipal spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyazah, seven water supply systems have been built in the Ngcobo district.

These include Phase 1 of the Lokshin project, which began in 2015 but was only completed in 2020. Phase 2 was supposed to be completed in May 2021, but was not completed until September 2023. Residents in the area say their taps remain dry despite millions spent on projects.

The water redistribution project in Sundvan is another sore point for residents. Despite assurances from the municipality that the project was completed in April 2022, contractors claim it was not completed until 2024 and there were still issues that needed to be ironed out.

Projects handed over to communities

The biggest complaint of many of these villagers is that the projects have been declared completed.

One of the village mayors, Gchinisizwe Mbeshu, believes that the projects were signed in order to allocate funds to contractors.

“Chris Hani Municipality tells us that testing has been done and there is water in the taps, but no member of the community has been called to witness this,” he said.

He added that in some areas only dispensers were installed without taps, but the project is still considered complete.

South Africans share their thoughts

While some social media users wondered what happened to the money, others wondered why people still vote for corrupt officials.

@morrow_nw asked:

“Why do they keep voting for this?”

@nkewuernest5068 stated:

“What is happening in rural areas is evil. Corruption among leaders in collaboration with municipal leaders who sell water to the people.”

@Tata963491189 asked:

“Where did the money go 🤔🤔🤔?”

@barry_niekerk said:

“Meanwhile, another group of instant millionaires are enjoying the fruits of their crimes at the expense of the people.”

@intrepidesigner added:

“30 years of ANC rule have done nothing to uplift, enrich or educate the poor. Instead, @MYANC is engaged in criminal robbery to enrich itself and its cadres. Electricity and water supplies are unmaintained and infrastructure is not developed enough to supply the growing population. The SA has been captured.”

@IThink34Iam said:

“As long as they continue to vote ANC, everything is fine.”

The EU community drinks water from dams

In the corresponding article Brief news reported how the Gobozana community had to consume water from dams contaminated by animal waste.

Residents in the Eastern Cape have no access to water and say they have received little help from the water service.

The Amatola Water Board acknowledged the problems and committed to putting plans in place to address them.

Source: Brief news